Insanity at best
by Spirit-Animal-Jade
Summary: To save Mystic Falls, apparently Caroline and Stefan have to appear as a married couple. She's still not exactly sure why, but she knows it's crazy, and most likely to go wrong. And it does, just not in the way she expects it to. Will get to M hopefully in later chapters. Steroline! Minor Delena.
1. Prologue

Insanity at best

.

_An: So I hope to start a multi chapter Steroline story, depending if this gets enough love to get my lazy ass into gear. I suck at typos, so please forgive me. This is sort of a prologue, to explain the story line. Steroline will develop, do not fear! Also, this is set when Elena is still human, Jeremy and Bonnie are very much alive and Stefan finds a way out of the triangle. Not after a specific episode as it's a story of my own. It may as well be AU._

.

It was insanity, at best. No, really. There is no chance in hell they are going to be able to pull this little plan off without a hitch. Things are going to go wrong, somewhere along the way and drastically. Caroline can _feel_ it.

Because for some bizarre reason she's still trying to wrap her head around, while simultaneously ignoring the goading looks Damon is sending her, this plan needs her and Stefan to appear _married_. And married for years bordering on the century mark, at that, if it were to be believable. And all Caroline's thoughts are summoning is a panicked and highly doubtful 'You want us to what?'

She says as much, and Damon raises an eyebrow at her before chucking the tumbler of blood he was drinking down his throat and shaking his head. "Did you not listen? You and Stefan need to act like a vomit-inducing, totally in-luurve-" He draws out the word with a hike of his eyebrows and Caroline rolls her eyes, "-couple. Otherwise we don't get the stupid necklace and hundreds of people die, blah blah blah. Not that I care, but Stefan seems pretty hung up on it, and Elena asked me to talk to you. So here I am."

Oh, _Elena_. She'd momentarily forgotten Elena was the motivation for everything in this town. She loved her best friend dearly, but people seriously needed to stop going out on a limb for her, because it ended up with the people Caroline loved the most inevitably getting hurt. She folds her arms across her chest and scowls at Damon, who is now strolling across the room, prodding absent-mindedly at the fireplace with a metal poker from it's stand on the tiles.

"So, you gonna do it?" he asks lazily, glancing over his shoulder. Caroline realises she hadn't spoken and pushes herself off the bookshelf she was leaning against with a sigh.

"I still don't get _why_!"

Damon gives a exasperated sigh and tosses the poker he'd been using back in it's place and turns towards her, throwing out his arms. "_Because_ Barbie, if you hadn't noticed this whole town has landed itself in some deep shit now that we've got a special branch of evil witches running around, thinking they're invincible. They're not like your precious Bonnie. They're _bad_. Like bring-down-the-gates-of-hell bad, and they've got the slightest problem with this town, because way back when this town wasn't only anti-vampire, it was anti-witch too. And so the founder's bought down a whole bunch of them. Rounded them up and slaughtered them, just like they were planning to do with the vampires in the tomb. Only then, they actually succeeded. So now we have some seriously pissed off witchy descendants trying to bring Satan himself to Mystic Falls, just to teach everyone a lesson."

Caroline squares her shoulders and narrows her eyes at him. "Yeah, Stefan told me as much. Not quite in those words, though."

Damon shrugs. "Probably because you're from one of the founding families. Probably didn't want to tell you what a murderous bunch your ancestors were."

"But you're like, _the_ founding family, too."

"I don't know. Stefan logic, who needs it?" Damon waves his hand dismissively. "The point is, are you, are you not, going to participate in this little scheme, huh?"

"I still don't get why I need to be involved, or how you and Stefan are going to attempt to take down an army of hell-bent witches!"

"Christ, you really don't listen do you, Blondie? Attention span of a gnat."

Caroline feels her fists curl into balls. Damon always knows exactly how to get on the wrong side of her, and she knows he enjoys doing it. She throws him a scathing look. "I'll have you know, I heard the phrase 'you pretend to be married to Stefan' and got a little preoccupied!"

Damon roles his eyes. "Clearly! And why are you so bothered, anyway? I thought you and my brother were best pals after he saved your vamp life?"

Caroline's a little irked that he's hit on something there. She's not entirely sure why the thought of her and Stefan pretending to be a couple is sending her into a mild panic. It's not like she hates spending time with him, like she does with Damon. If Damon were the the proposed other half of this couple she'd be out of the door at vampire speed. No, it's not spending time with Stefan. They're friends. She'd even go as far as saying best friends. She'd chalk the panicky feeling up the neurotic part of her creeping to the surface, but she knows that's not it. She's just uncomfortable with the idea, and Damon can sense it.

"Oh, come on!" he wheedles. Caroline feels the muscles in her fingers twitch again. So close to slapping him.

"So how is me and Stefan being married going to help anyone?" she spits.

"I'll recap for you- Bonnie says we need a necklace belonging to the one of the oldest, most powerful witches of all time; Reigia, or whatever she's called. This necklace is meant to keep the witches on side. Bonnie said that it can identify disloyal witches to the spirit and weakens their powers, or some voodoo like that. I don't know how it works, but we need it." He pauses to wave an arm in her direction, "But Bonnie says that the necklace was stolen long ago by a group of Vampires who thought it might be useful in protecting themselves against witch attacks. They don't use it, or anything, they just keep it to blackmail. Which is smart, but it messes with us."

Caroline frowns. "And?"

"Would you let me get to the point?" He goes over to his fancy drinking cabinet and pours himself a generous amount of whisky and brings it to his lips. "And, Barbie, this group of vampires is like the elite race. They're not the Originals, they're not old, but they must have sat on a spike sometime in the past because they're all so far up their own asses-" He pauses to take another sip. "- that they've created this little club. They live together, hunt together, like a coven. Coven's are kind of rare but they do still happen, although it's hard to hide a bunch of blood-thirsty vampires these days. Still, they manage it. Probably up to their eyeballs in compulsion. Anyway, this coven is made up of only married vampire couples. They're that exclusive. It's like some freaking country club. And they have the necklace."

"So that's where Stefan and I come in?"

"That's where you two come in."

"Why can't it be Elena?"

Damon swirls the rest of his whisky and takes a deep irritated sounding breath in. "If it hadn't escaped your notice, Elena hasn't really got the vampire bit down. She walks in there and no-one is going to be able to stop the coven jumping on her and snapping her neck. No humans allowed other than for food purposes."

Caroline makes a face and Damon flashes her a sarcastic grin.

"So me and Stefan then. Are we meant to steal the necklace?"

Damon shakes his head. "Nah, what you do is say you want to join, hang around them for a while, gain their trust, and then provide a distraction while I jump in and grab it."

Caroline raises a sceptical eyebrow. "And you're going to be able to do that, are you?"

"It's called having _faith_, baby vampire."

Caroline snorts. "Why can't Stefan and I just take it?"

"Because we need them to trust you. We need to find it first, remember. And if the plan goes wrong at least they'll be only be killing me, not the both of you." He gives a half grimace, half smirk and Caroline feels a twinge in her heart, only for a second. He's still a dick, and she's stilled pissed off at him. It's a continuous state, she thinks.

Caroline considers it for a second. Really, if what Damon is saying is true, and she thinks it probably is, judging that Stefan told her mostly the same thing, then there really isn't a better way out of this. They need that necklace or the whole town is going to be burnt to the ground, innocent bystanders not given a second thought. And that includes her Mom, and Matt, and Jeremy, and every other kid at her high school. She knows she can't let that happen, just because she feels slightly off centre about the whole preposition. She finds herself shaking her blonde hair out of her face and nodding slowly.

"Fine, I'll do it."

Damon contemplates her before his face splits into a smile. "Excellent. I'll inform the brother of your gracious decision."

She really does feel like throwing something at his face. Preferably the white hot poker that's cooling by the fire, but she restrains herself. It's what she's best at, anyway. Her bottom lip catches under her teeth as she thinks of who taught her that self-restraint.

"Where is Stefan? Is he okay with this?"

"He's arranging things with Elena. They're both fine with it. Elena wants to save the town as much as you do. So don't you worry you pretty little head."

"What's Elena going to be doing all this time?"

A blood bag is picked up from the coffee table and Damon rips it open, grinning. "She'll be with me. We'll be close by, small town motel. Very cosy." He sounds ridiculously pleased with himself and Caroline hates it.

"Isn't that gonna create a bit of tension between you and Stefan?"

Damon chuckles darkly. "Ah, but that's the beauty of the plan, you see." Caroline grinds her teeth and Damon can hear it. "Oh relax, I'm not gonna make any moves on her!"

"You aren't?"

Damon pours the blood bag into a glass and winks at her before walking away.

"Yet," he calls out over his shoulder.

Caroline sighs and goes off in search of Stefan in the opposite direction. There are a lot of rooms in the Salvatore Boarding house and she's thankful she knows where Stefan's is. And that it's pretty far away from Damon's.

.

_An: Also let me make one thing clear. I love Damon. Like adore him. I don't mind Elena and I totally ship Delena. Sorry if he comes off horribly in this chapter, but Caroline's not too fond of being talked down to._

_Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and please review/ follow/ favourite to let me know if I should continue._


	2. A Good Man Said

Chapter Two: A Good Man Said

_Oh a good man said, if you're feeling dead, you gotta try to find a way to be alive - The Maine, Take Me Dancing_

_._

Caroline takes the stairs slowly, still trying to grow accustomed to what she'd just agreed to. She really hopes Stefan isn't just agreeing to this as part of his vampire-with-great-hair-and-a-hero-complex. She trails her fingers up the cherrywood banister as she thinks. There's no telling how long this plan is going to take to execute, Damon hadn't mentioned it and Caroline wonders how long they can really afford to stay away while the witches run rampant. She shivers at the thought of the destruction they could cause; images of all the previous death and despair filling her thoughts and she recoils from that possibility. No, she definitely needs to do this. The thought of being surrounded by old, frightening loyal powerful vampires is a little disconcerting, sure, but she'll have Stefan, so they'll be okay. Or so she keeps telling herself.

She can hear hushed voices floating down the corridor and when she arrives at Stefan's room the door is hanging ajar by the smallest centimetre, and she can just see the profiles of Elena and Stefan silhouetted against the light streaming in through the window. Stefan has Elena's face cupped in his hands, but she's purposefully angling her chin down and her hands are flat against his chest, trying to push away.

"No, Elena, listen to me."

"Stefan I-"

"No, Elena, listen. When I get back, we need to talk about this, okay? We have to talk about this."

"I don't have anything to say Stefan! I- I don't know what my feelings are doing at the moment, okay? I need some space. Perhaps this trip is for the best."

Stefan's hands drop from her face to hang aimlessly by his side and his shoulders slouch, looking the picture of defeat. Or maybe he just can't find the effort to continue. He takes a step back and when he speaks next it's in a monotone. "Right, fine. Got it."

There's some rustling as Stefan starts chucking articles into a suitcase, Caroline supposes, although she can't see it. Her hand slips from it's place on the doorknob. She knows she shouldn't be eavesdropping but the two inside are far to wrapped up in the tension building between them to notice her. Elena's voice cuts through the silence.

"Here, let me help you."

"I got it, thanks."

"No, I just-"

There's the soft thump of the suitcase lid being flipped shut. "Elena! I'm fine!"

Only via her heightened senses can Caroline hear the hitch in Elena's breathing. "Stefan," she begins, her voice barely a whisper. It's a soft plea that Stefan chooses to ignore.

Stefan heaves the suitcase off the bed. "No, Elena. Why don't you just go talk to Damon, huh? Maybe he has some elements of the plan he needs to go over with you." His voice is cold with the slightest cutting edge and both Elena and Caroline can hear the clear dismissal and frustration hanging around the words. Elena juts out her chin and turns her back on Stefan.

"I think I will."

Caroline speeds into one of the empty rooms off the corridor before Elena can see and leans against the door breathing shallowly with irritation as she listens to Elena descend the stairs. She doesn't know what game Elena is playing, but it's quite clear that it's doing no-one any favours. She didn't even have to see Stefan's face to know Elena was hurting him. It was clear in his words, in his detached tone. Because when Stefan wants to stop the pain getting to him, he starts shutting everyone out and that ends in one horrible conclusion, that Caroline is definitely not going to stand around idly and let come into fruition. Maybe Elena's right, maybe this trip is the best thing for them. Stefan needs to get away from her for a while; it's like she's suffocating him in the worst way.

She creeps out into the corridor and sits on the floor, a couple of metres from Stefan's room, her back against the wall and her legs folded under her. She can hear him muttering bitter words to himself under his breath but she tries to tune him out; she's done enough snooping for today already. She lets her head fall back against the wooden panelling of the wall and her eyes slip shut while she waits for Stefan to emerge. If he doesn't come out in an hour she'll have to assume he's sulking and go in and get him instead.

There's the sound of someone clearing their throat and her eyes snap open to find Stefan standing in front of her, his arms crossed over his staple grey form fitting t-shirt and a expectant look on his face. "Caroline?"

She jumps up with a smile. "Oh good, you're here! I was thinking about interrupting. Umm, so I kinda need to talk to you."

Stefan raises an eyebrow but offers her a slight smile. Caroline knows it's the best she's likely to get at this precise moment so she matches it with a warm look. "Go ahead," he says and Caroline bites her lip.

"So umm, Damon told me about the plan, and I was wondering if you were, like, cool with it? And I guess I wanted to know how we're going to pull this whole thing off, and what I need to take and what everyone is else is going to be doing, and what exactly the necklace looks like, and exactly how many vampires are gonna be there-" She pauses for breath and Stefan stands there silently waiting for her to continue, his lips quirked into a smile. "Anyway, I have a loooot of questions, I guess, and I wasn't going to ask Damon any of them, ugh!"

Stefan starts walking back to his room and motions with a jab of his thumb for Caroline to follow him. She strides after him and watches Stefan sit on the end of his bed before she sits next to him. "He's being a dick," Stefan says simply, a sort of mix between a question and a statement and she nods.

"Yeah, you could say that."

Stefan's lips twist into a wry smile. "So what were those questions before? I don't think I quite caught all of them."

Caroline gives a small giggle and shoves his shoulder playfully. Perhaps its testament to the energy Elena just drained out of him that he lets Caroline's gentle touch actually push him off balance. He lets himself hit the bed then shuffles upwards to lean against the pillows and regard Caroline seriously. She kicks off her shoes and swivels to face him, tucking her legs sideways underneath her on the end of the bed.

"Okay," she begins. "So are you okay with the whole me, you, couple thing?"

"Would I have suggested the idea if I wasn't Caroline?"

Caroline's forehead creases. "I…didn't know you came up with it. But I guess not." Stefan half shrugs and nods at her to continue. "So umm, how many vampires are there gonna be?" She tries not to sound worried but Stefan catches the cheery falseness of her tone and leans forward to touch her arm.

"Around twenty, give or take a few. It's a large coven, I think, though it's headed by this couple. They're the ones who make all the decisions and such. It's them we have to befriend."

Caroline swallows thickly and tries to nod like she's not the slightest bit scared. Twenty vampires is a lot. Twenty is a number Stefan and her are not going to be able to fight off, no matter how hard they try and she can pretend to be strong and powerful all she likes but that's not going to stop them shoving a stake through her heart. She changes position and pulls her knees up to her chest and hugs them to her, turning away from her friend. Stefan shuffles forward and rests a hand on the small of her back and rubs a small circle there.

"You'll be fine, Caroline. They won't even be going for you."

"We hope."

"I hope."

She sighs and nods, truthfully this time and turns her head to see Stefan give her a slow smile. "We can do this, Caroline. You're my best friend, we _have_ to be able to pull this off."

Caroline starts to chew her bottom lip again and folds her hands in her knees. "But we have to make it believable, otherwise you and me are gonna end up as vampire toast."

"So we will make it believable. We can act right, Care?" He tries to rub her shoulder but Caroline ends up shrinking away and jumping off the bed in a panic, to begin nervously striding around Stefan's bedroom.

"Look Stefan, the last acting I did was like in middle school in the school play and I, like, totally failed and I forgot my lines and everyone laughed at me, and that's been the one thing I can't do this whole time so now what if if they don't believe me because I'm rubbish at pretending and instead of laughing at me they end up killing me, or even worse, you, and it'll all be my fault and the whole town is gonna go up in smoke all because I can't make us being a couple believable and-"

"Caroline, Caroline, shhh, listen to me-"

"- then I'm gonna have to spend the rest of my lonely existence, that is if I'm not dead, feeling guilty-"

"Caroline, no, that's not going to happen-"

"-yes it will because I'm an epic failure and you're trusting me when you shouldn't and-"

"Caroline!"

"_What?!_" Caroline wheels round from her frenzied pacing and throws her arms out in exasperation, only for Stefan to catch them easily.

"Caroline, calm down. We _will_ be fine. You will be fine. I will be fine. You got that?"

She lets her erratic breathing settle and feels the tension leave her shoulders, just a little. Looking into Stefan's steady green eyes, she can maybe believe that everything will turn out okay. _I will not let anything happen to you. _If Stefan is always right there to protect her, what's the worst that could happen? She still doesn't want to answer that, but it had to be significantly better with Stefan's support.

"Right, sorry about that. Calm, yeah…." She offers him a weak little smile which he returns before pulling her in for a hug. She wraps her arms around his strong body and places her hands on his back, in the valley between his shoulder blades where they seem to fit and sighs into his chest. Stefan brings a hand up to stroke the ends of her blonde curls and tries to reassure her through nothing but the way he's holding her close, that they will get through this together.

When Caroline pulls away her eyebrows are knotted together and she stares at her shoes. "I'm sorry, here I am making a fuss when you're trying to deal with Elena and everything…"

Stefan lets his arms drops to shove his hands in his pockets. "Don't tell me you heard that."

She picks her gaze up to meet his hesitantly. She doesn't want to admit to listening in right now, so she just shrugs it off. "Vampire hearing and stuff."

Stefan exhales and closes his eyes for a second before turning back to his dresser to gather a few more times of clothing to add to the suitcase, his posture stiffening. "Right, of course."

She immediately feels bad. Why is it she always ends up with a severe case of foot-in-the-mouth? She always says the wrong thing at the wrong time and now she's made Stefan retreat into himself again. She takes a tentative step forward and slides her hands up his back to give his shoulders a light squeeze.

"You'll work it out, Stefan."

"Maybe," he answers, and Caroline tries to ignore the lack of hope in his voice. Silence falls between them for a second and Caroline's scared Stefan's going to ask her to leave, when he turns around to lean on the dresser and faces her. "Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?"

Caroline shakes her head. All her other questions can probably be answered by Elena, or maybe Damon if she can bare to deal with him. There's no need to continue to bug Stefan when he's like this, and he probably does want some alone time. "No, I'm okay, I think."

Stefan raises an eyebrow at her. "You sure? You wanna go pack up your stuff?"

Caroline grimaces. "How long have I got?"

Stefan makes a show of checking his watch. "Well we need a de-briefing of sorts before we leave, but you have around an hour to pack your things."

Caroline can't hep the groan that slips out and Stefan chuckles lowly. "An hour? Is that _it_? Oh my God, I have so much to do. An hour, _really_?"

"I'm afraid so."

Caroline rolls her eyes while Stefan smirks at her. "Not funny!"

"Of course it isn't." But his eyes are still twinkling and Caroline decides she needs to keep him smiling like that instead of leaving him to go back to brooding over Elena on his own.

"Then you're coming with me, I'm going to need help with this one."

"What? No," Stefan tries to protest but Caroline scoops up his hand and proceeds to drag him out out his bedroom and down the stairs. After a second he stops struggling and Caroline keeps up a ceaseless stream of words about everything she needs to pack, and Stefan just lets his body as he's guided by her. Passing through the living room they're interrupted by a dark chuckle from a shadow in the corner.

"Getting in to character already, are we? Careful Stefan, she'll have you whipped."

Caroline just sends him a death glare and continues to pull Stefan away before he can think of an appropriate retort or tell his brother where to go. Soon enough they're outside the Boarding House and Caroline drops his hand.

"Now are you coming, or am I going to have to continue to manhandle you?"

Stefan glances back at the house and then back to Caroline, her arms crossed and her golden hair flying out in whisps in the wind, her blue eyes fixed on his. She doesn't particularly look like she's going to back down.

"I'm coming."

Caroline's face breaks into a smile, and Stefan knows he's made the right decision.

* * *

_An: So i just watched the finale and omfg Stefan, baby. So I'm going to carry on with this fic and pretend like none of it ever happened, okay? Okay. Thank you for the reviews and follows, those of you that did. Each one makes me happy. I hope you enjoyed the Steroline interaction in this chapter. Questions, comments, an outpouring of love for Candice Accola? I'd love to hear any of that in a review :))_


	3. I Played My Part

Chapter Three: I Played My Part

_'Shot through the heart, and you're to blame. Darlin' you give love a bad name' - You Give Love A Bad Name, Bon Jovi_

_._

Stefan stands at Caroline's bedroom door watching as she spins around her room, grabbing cardigans and jackets, her toothbrush and other various items, and manages to pack them very neatly into a bag by the window. Next comes the toiletries and Stefan's eyebrows shoot up a little bit when he sees the numerous bottles and bags Caroline carries out of the bathroom and drops on top of the clothes.

"Are you planning on starting a small chemical factory while we're away or something?"

Caroline sends him a scathing look and carries on flinging stuff in. She walks up to her vanity and sweeps her arm across it's top, brushing everything into a plastic bag, which she then bundles up and stuff in next to her clothes.

"You're very efficient," Stefan notes with a smirk.

"Uh-huh, now help me vampire-boy. I'm assuming there's gonna be some sort of party or dinner while we're there, right?"

Stefan just shrugs. "I don't know. Probably. I mean, they're old vampires with not a lot else to do."

Caroline stops with her hands on her hips and thinks for a moment, before flinging open her wardrobe doors and grabbing a handful of coat hangers and material.

"Which one?"

She holds up a couple of dresses; coral pink, duck egg blue, a deep purple one that Stefan's vaguely familiar with and lastly a turquoise dress that matches the colour of her eyes. He blinks and Caroline stands there waiting, a slight frown on her face.

'Yeah, you know what, none of these will do, maybe I can find-"

"I like the greenish one."

Her eyebrows unknot and she lifts the dress up in front of her, the coat hanger over her head to make it look like she's wearing it.

"Really? Are you sure? It doesn't look too fancy or wash me out does it?"

Stefan considers her, imagines her hair all neatly curled and pinned up and lipstick staining her mouth, swallows and shakes his head firmly. "No, it's fine."

"Yay," Caroline squeaks. She folds up the chosen dress carefully and puts it in her bag before zipping the suitcase up. 'I'm done!"

"You took half an hour. I thought you said an hour wasn't going to be enough?" Stefan asks, taking a step forward into the room and checking it for anything she may have forgotten. He picks up her cell phone from the bed, tosses it to her and she gives him an appreciative smile.

"Thanks, would've forgotten that."

"You sure you're done?"

"Yep," she answers, and her smile falters the smallest amount. "Now I gotta tell my Mom."

Stefan's back stiffens and he frowns. "Look Caroline, maybe it's not the best idea for you to tell your Mom."

Caroline's eyebrows shoot up argumentatively. "What am I meant to do Stefan? Disappear for however long we're gone and leave my Mom worrying?"

"You could leave a note and avoid the goodbyes," Stefan tries, folding his arms across his chest. Caroline laughs hollowly.

"Saying what? 'Dear Mom, just off to try and save the town with my vampire buddies. Slight possibility I might not ever come home, but don't worry about that! Don't know how long I'll be gone, but it's all _chill?' " _Her voice raises to a dangerously high pitch and Stefan cringes and catches her wrist for the second time that day.

"You will come back. Within a month you'll be home and safe and so will everyone else."

"You can't promise me that Stefan! You can't promise Mom that, either!"

He drops her wrist with a sigh. "Fine, no Caroline, I can't promise it! But i'll do everything in my power to make sure it's not the case. Is that enough for you?"

Caroline's bottom lip wobbles precariously at Stefan's raised voice but she sucks in a breath and steadies herself, brushing her fingers against his apologetically. Stefan just turns away and rubs the back of his neck tiredly. Caroline sighs.

"I still wanna say good-bye Stefan."

"So where is your mother Caroline?"

"At the office, I think."

Stefan lurches forward to grab her suitcase and pulls his car keys out of his pocket. "Well we've got twenty minutes, we better hurry up."

He gives Caroline what she assumes is meant to be look of reconciliation and starts out the door. Caroline beams back at him and falls into step next to him as they reach his car.

A couple of minutes into the journey Caroline notices that Stefan's hands are rigid on the steering wheel and his gaze is faraway, certainly not on the road. If it were anyone else driving she'd probable be more worried, but his driving is impeccable, and Caroline's more worried for the wellbeing of her friend.

"Stefan?"

His fingertips twitch and his thoughts seem to snap back inside the car like the release of an elastic band. He glances at her out of the corner of his eyes and adjusts his grip on the wheel.

"You okay?" he asks.

"Yeah, are _you_?"

Her tone implies she's not about to be palmed off with a lie, so Stefan just shrugs. "Just thinking about things…and whether they'll be different when we get back, I suppose. And thinking about your Mom too."

"My mom?" Caroline teases, opting for the humour tactic, and Stefan's face actually cracks into a genuine smile. He takes a hand off the wheel to pitch her in the shoulder and she pretends to yelp in pain, though of course she hardly felt it.

"Yes, your Mom, but no, not like that."

Caroline stops giggling and attempts to sober up. "So before I go getting any ideas, why were you thinking of my Mom?"

"I was trying to figure out what we can tell her."

"Can't we just tell her the truth?"

Stefan shakes his head. "Better not, the witches might get wind of it. And whilst we're not in town, we don't want them moving their planned night forward. Bonnie thinks they're going to do their spell with the full moon, and that's a month away. Any less time and we might not get enough time to get the necklace."

Caroline taps her fingernails on the car door while she thinks. "How about a road trip?"

Stefan looks at her, his eyebrows quirked. "A road trip?"

Caroline nods enthusiastically. "Sure, I'll say I'm going away on a road trip with you for a month, to go see your family."

"I don't have any family, not outside Mystic Falls, anyway."

Caroline smiles for a second at his definition of family and her inclusion in it, but then explains. "She knows that. She'll get it's vampire business, so she won't try to stop me. I'll tell her to look after Matt. Then she'll know I'm serious."

Stefan's face sets in a grim line. "You sure it'll work?"

"She's my Mom, she'll get it."

Stefan nods, turns his eyes back to the road. Caroline directs him to the Station, even though he knows the way off by heart.

/

"Caroline, I don't understand, why are you choosing now to go?"

Caroline makes a small frustrated noise in the back of her throat. Stefan continues to stand slightly behind her, his arm brushing hers. Liz looks from her daughter's face to his, searching for some kind of explanation that she's not going to get you

"Mom, I told you. Stefan and I are going on a road trip to see his family in…" She panics and picks a state at random. "..Arizona." Stefan's eyes dart sideways and Caroline looks at the floor instead of her mother's face. Liz crosses her arms and regards her daughter seriously.

"What are you talking about Caroline? Stefan doesn't have-"

"Mom!" Caroline jerks her gaze upwards and attempts to stare some understanding into her mother's mind. Something seems to click and Liz glances at Stefan, who tries to meet her searching eyes. She turns back to her daughter.

"So a road trip with Stefan?"

Caroline nods. "Yes, Mom."

"To…Arizona?"

Caroline blushes but nods again.

"And you'll be gone for a couple of weeks? Can't you be more specific?"

"I'm sorry, Mom."

Liz seems to resign herself to not knowing and uncrosses her arms to rest one on Caroline's shoulder. "Caroline, you'd tell me if you and Stefan were…a thing now wouldn't you?"

Caroline's eyes widen with embarrassment and Stefan shuffles his feet uncomfortably. "Oh God Mom, no. We're just friends, I swear."

Liz gives her shoulder s squeeze. "Well, okay then, Care. Be careful."

She turns to Stefan, and he notices she's adopted her Sheriff on duty face. "Look after my daughter, Mr Salvatore."

He swallows and nods. "I will do, Mrs Forbes, I promise."

Liz regards him a second longer but then Caroline is pulling on his arm and waving to her mother, and they walk, arm in arm, out of the station.

Caroline leans up against his car door after he unlocks it.

"Caroline?"

She blinks. "I'm okay, I'm okay. I hope she understood."

From the way she was x-raying Stefan at the end, Stefan thinks she probably did. There was a serious undertone to her words that would't have been there otherwise. He gets in to the car and Caroline slides in next to him, he hands folded in her lap as she fiddles with her rings.

"I think Arizona may have given us away," he says, a hint of teasing to his voice, and Caroline barks a little laugh.

"Shut up. It was the first state I though of, it begins with A!"

"Hey, what about Arkansas, Alabama?"

Caroline wrinkles her nose. "Eww, no Arizona sounds way more exciting. If we were actually going on a road trip, I'd much prefer to go to Arizona."

Stefan chuckles and throws the car into reverse. "One day we will see the great sights of Arizona, you and me Caroline."

She smiles and unfolds her hands. "I'm taking that as a promise, Mr Salvatore.."

/

Stefan pockets his keys, calling back to Caroline to leave her bag in the trunk and heads for the stairs. He gets a couple under his feet when he sees them; entwined in the doorway of Damon's room, her hands thrown around his brother's neck, his playing with the zipper on her dress. The banister crunches under his tightening grip. He can't move, he can't think, he can't do anything. All he can see is his last hope of keeping Elena, of loving her irrevocably, being thrown to the wind, ashes drifting in the breeze. A second kiss is more than just situational. A second kiss implies a choice, a decision. It implies consequences, and Elena has quite clearly made peace with hers.

There's a gasp from behind him and he twists to see Caroline at the bottom of the stairs, frozen like him at the sight of Elena and Damon kissing so passionately. The two break apart at the sound and Elena's face goes white and she tries to hide behind Damon's shoulder, while Damon straightens up and smirks in Stefan's direction.

"Brother,"

"Stefan I-"

Stefan interrupts them both. "Caroline, we're starting now."

Caroline seems to gather her thoughts and motor skills enough to close her mouth, and Stefan appears by her side at the bottom of the stairs, his chest heaving.

"Text me the rest of the details, Damon. I don't think I can stand to hear your voice right now."

And with that, he's gone, and Caroline's left standing looking up at a girl she's not sure if she recognises any longer.

"Caroline-" Elena starts, but the blonde vampire cuts her off.

"I think you've done enough for today Elena."

She finds Stefan in the car, beating his fist against the steering wheel, his forehead creased and his eyes dark as the night. But through the acts of anger, all she can sense is disappointment and hurt. All she can see is the pain shining through from the dull pits his eyes have become.

* * *

_An: Oh god I'm sorry I will I redeem Damon and Elena. Thank you kindly for the reviews etc. They warm the cockles of my heart. I hope you are all coping as well as can be expected with the finale. Thoughts on the chapter? Leave 'em in a review on your way out? :)_


	4. May Your Smile Shine On

Chapter Four: May Your Smile Shine On

_'All of the stars are fading away, just try not to worry, you'll see some them day. Just take what you need and be on your way.' - Stop Crying Your Heart Out, Oasis_

_._

Caroline watches desperately as Stefan speeds out of the driveway, numbness and pain flicking like shadows across his face one after the other. She can almost see the thoughts hanging in a mist around his head; sense the internal battle raging in his mind. She can see the overwhelming desire to just turn it off. Turn it all off, just for a second. Let everything just settle like dust and be done with it. Only it's not that easy, and he knows it, so instead Caroline has to watch him trying to shut it out the only way he knows- replacing it with a need for blood.

"Stefan, slow down-"

His grip flexes on the steering wheel but he doesn't turn his head to look at her. The veins around his eyes seem to crackle and stand out black against his pale skin. Stefan only grits his teeth.

"Stefan, breathe. Keep breathing, keep fighting," she tries, her voice loud in comparison to Stefan's shuddering gasps that are filling the car.

He sucks in a breath like it's something painful and takes a turn too fast, sending Caroline careering into the car door. She hits the side with a thud that doesn't really hurt, but it takes her by surprise. "Stefan!"

The sound of her voice seems to snap Stefan out of whatever world he was in and the blood dissipates from around his eyes and the car screeches to a halt. "Jesus Caroline, I'm sorry, are you alright?"

She straightens up slowly and nods and Stefan drops his gaze to where he's fiddling with the dashboard controls. He can't look at her. He's ashamed of his reactions right now, of the feeling of fire clawing up his throat just because it's more manageable than letting his mind rest on what is happening back home. He's still struggling to get his breathing under control and Caroline can see the pulse beating against his neck, heavy and thick. She swallows and unclips her seatbelt with a flick of her finger.

"Come on, get out the car."

His head jerks up. "What?"

"Get out, we're going hunting."

Stefan grimaces. "Caroline you know I can't, I need blood-" His voice is raspy with thirst and the veins around his eyes reappear, "-but I can't just-" he cuts himself off and slams a fist into the drivers window. "I just, God, Elena!" It splinters a little, cracks appearing like a spider's web in the glass. Caroline pretends to ignore it. She has to speed round to his side of the car and yank him out herself.

"I'm not stupid Stefan. We're going hunting in the woods. Away from humans. There's gotta be a deer in there somewhere, or if we're really lucky, a bear." She gives him a pale attempt at a smile. "Come on."

Stefan hesitates, his fingers still clutching his car keys, playing with the lock button. He hits it with a nod and leaves his car in the lay-by. Perhaps he appreciates her ignoring his little outburst or perhaps the thirst for blood over takes him, but he walks after her into the dark edges of the wood, following her voice ahead of him, and the sunlight hitting her hair.

"Caroline?"

She appears with a small deer cradled in her arms, and if he didn't know better, he'd say she was petting it. A single crimson stain near her collar tells him otherwise and droplets of blood fall to the forest floor from the animals severed throat. Caroline wrinkles her nose at the creature before she hands it to him, instructing him to eat.

He does, and Caroline watches him carefully, fetches a few rabbits, until he's sitting back on his haunches, the fire in his throat slightly abated but his tongue now heavy with the slightly bitter, gritty taste of animal blood. He tries to swallow it down and wipes his face of the mess he's made. Caroline's sitting against a tree, watching him, and she smiles when he sees her.

"You done?"

"I think." He pauses and shoves his hands in his pocket. "Thanks Caroline."

She pulls herself to her feet and kicks some leaves over the dead animals' bodies. "No problem. Feel better?"

He shrugs. "A bit."

She considers him carefully for a second, tilting her head to her side. "A bit is better than nothing. You ready to drive on?"

"Sure."

She climbs in the driver's seat before he can protest and turns on the radio to some obnoxious pop station. She hums along to the songs, singing a line every now and again, filling the silence with comforting nonsense rather than the thoughts battling inside his head. He thinks that's probably why she's doing it.

He has to direct her every couple of miles, but mostly he lets his eyes slip close and his head hit the headrest, allowing Caroline's voice to waft around him and block out all memories of home. Her voice is sweet and melodic, and it vaguely reminds him of how his mother used to sing in the mornings, arranging flowers into vases in the kitchen. His lips twitch upwards. Caroline sees it and smiles.

The days draws to a close until Caroline's driving into the dusk, and then the closing in of nighttime. Occasionally she'll ask him a question about the plan, in the moments when he's not feigning sleep. He tells her about the coven, about how they came to be. A pack of vampires without daylight rings, being hunted by their townsfolk. They found safety in numbers, beat the locals off. He misses the bit about the demonic nature of these vampires, of how they murdered every man woman and child in their way after. He doesn't want her to get scared. .

She nods and makes hums of agreement in the back of her throat that tell him she's following his story. He describes how the vampires have a fondness for history and the upper class and 'culture'; which is why they favour married couples- to make them exclusive. Upon hearing this Caroline hits the brakes maybe a little too hard at the T-junction.

"Stefan, I don't know anything about proper culture! All this fancy art, like all I know is Monet and some dudes called Raphael or something." Stefan chuckles at both her attempts at art critiquing and the panic in her voice.

"Relax Caroline, you'll be fine. Just let me do the talking."

"You know this stuff?"

"An insomniac vampire with deep sated guilt problems equals a lot of studying."

Caroline's eyes flick towards him away the road and she pulls the car away again. He can see the concern shining in them and gives a gentle shrug. "It's no big deal. I just know a lot of stuff. It was probably all useless before and now it isn't. So in a way, this is good."

The light in her eyes softens and she turns her head back to the road, but not before taking his hand and brushing her fingers over his knuckles. Stefan concentrates on the headlights in front, leading the way into the dark.

/

"Shotgun the bed by the window!" Caroline yells, literally throwing her purse across the small motel room so it lands perfectly on the pillow of her chosen bed. Stefan snorts and collapses on the bed pushed up against the opposite wall, dropping both their suitcases at the same time. Caroline spread-eagles on her bed and giggles.

"The look on that guy's face!"

Stefan gives a small chortle. "I should think he's sitting in his office thoroughly confused right now."

"Serves him right. He was a skeazeball. I can't believe he made a pass at me!"

Stefan nods, a flicker of a smile pulling at his lips, only suppressed by remembrance of the repugnant look on the receptionist's face. He'd looked at Caroline like she was something to eat, which in any other circumstance would have been sufficiently ironic enough to amuse him. But when the dude leaned over the desk to try and catch Caroline's wrist and yank her back to him, all he'd felt was a inane need to protect her mixed with something else. Something he wasn't sure he wanted to put a name to right now.

"You gave quite a show, back there." Caroline says, her voice teasing. But there's a question in her voice too. She knows that he knows she could've have handled herself. It's a complicated way of looking at things.

"I was already angry and he wasn't acting like a gentleman," he replies.

"That's because he wasn't one."

"Yeah, no kidding."

Caroline laughs again, the sound like fine champagne bubbling, he thinks.

"I hope we didn't hurt him too much."

"It was just his wrist I twisted. Worse case scenario it's sprained. But you compelled him, so it's fine. He won't even remember."

She rolls onto her side to face him, still sitting on the edge of his bed.

"And I got us this room. _Full up_ my ass. I was not sleeping in the car!"

Stefan feels kind of stupid that he couldn't have compelled the man himself, but he's simply not strong enough. Animal blood lacks more qualities than just good flavour. He doesn't exactly condone compelling either, but Caroline wasn't going to let the man go free without getting what she wanted along the way. And he was fine with that.

She disappears into the tiny bathroom to get changed and ready for bed, and comes out with her blonde hair looped in a messy bun, and pyjamas with what look like rabbits stitched onto the side. He raises an eyebrow at her as she crosses to her bed.

She catches him looking. "Oh shut up."

"Bunnies?"

"Now you understand my aversion to eating them."

Stefan chuckles. Caroline's frown transforms to a smile. She vainly tries to fluff up the flat motel pillows and crawls under the sparse covers. Stefan continues to lie fully clothed on top, his arms folded behind the back of his head, staring up at the ceiling.

"Stefan?"

"Yeah?"

"If you stop thinking about them, maybe you'll get to sleep."

He sighs and rolls to face the wall.

"Night Caroline."

She adjusts the covers around her shoulders. Her voice is kind and gentle as it filters through the dim lighting of the room.

"Good night Stefan."

* * *

_An: My apologies for the shortness of the chapter. I was going to write more but I felt the next section would fit better in the next chapter. How are we all doing? Thoughts on what I could do better?_


	5. Where I Follow

Chapter Five: Where I Follow

_The dawn is breaking, a light shining through. You're barely waking and I'm tangled up in you - Collide, Howie Day_

_._

The chink in the curtains is allowing a single column of light to enter the room, illuminating the dust swirling in the air like glitter, and falling directly onto Caroline's face. She blinks blearily and cracks an eye open, wincing. Reaching an arm out she tugs the curtain properly closed and falls back to her pillows with a groan. She's only allowed a few more blissful minutes of that special not-quiet-asleep-not-yet-awake state before the sound of someone typing on a cell makes her open her eyes again.

She blinks to make the room come into focus and sees Stefan hunched over at the Motel's poor excuse for a desk. For a fraction of a second he meets her eyes, and Caroline gets the district feeling he's been watching her. In an instant it's gone, and Stefan looks down quickly at the phone in his hands and continues to fiddle with it, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Stefan?"

"Hmmm? Oh, you're awake. Good, we need to get going." There's a falseness to his voice that leaves Caroline confused.

She struggles against her covers to sit up against the headboard. "Is that Damon you're texting?"

Stefan nods distractedly, his fingers moving at lightening speed against the keyboard, a grim look on his face. Caroline frowns and slides her legs out of bed, her fingers gripping the edge of the bed.

"Is he okay? Elena? They're okay, right?"

Stefan sighs and finally looks up again to meet her worried stare. "They're fine. Damon's just going through some last minute planning with me, making sure I know what I'm doing." He grimaces again, finishes the text and sets the phone down on the desk. "Sorry. Good morning, Caroline."

Caroline smiles hesitantly, unsure of Stefan's mood. He appears perfectly fine, but his tense smile says otherwise.

"Well, are you okay? Did Damon- did he say something to you?"

Stefan's lip pull upwards into a wry smile. "No, no. It's just- I don't particularly want to speak to Damon right now, is all."

Caroline nods, wanting to ask more about what the others are up to, if they're leaving soon; but she holds her tongue. Stefan's fingers itch towards the TV remote, something to keep him preoccupied. The news flashes on and Stefan drops the remote to sit back on his bed, his arms folded as he watches the stories roll. The first couple of bulletins are on random town stuff- the majors new child, the high school pageant. Caroline watches for a second and then stands up and grabs her toiletries.

"Well, I'm going to go shower. Promise I'll be quick."

Stefan gives her a thankful look and nods, before reverting his attention back to the TV. She's just about to step into the shower when the news switches tone and the the cheery voice of the news anchor is replaced by a serious sounding reporter, obviously out of the studio.

"- some kind of animal attack. This marks the third unexplained animal attack here in Mason Creek since the year began. The town council is taking the matter very seriously, and the case is being looked into. Meanwhile it is advised that you keep your children at home for the next few days and under supervision, as the animal is believed to be still at large. Please report any sightings of such an animal to the local police, but the public have been warned to not attempt to tackle the animal themselves.

The victim, 22 year old Aubrey Weir, was much beloved-"

The TV falls dead and Caroline hears the remote being dropped back onto the desk. She tightens a towel around herself and steps back into the room, her legs feeling shaky. Her worries are confirmed when Stefan sees her and raises an eyebrow. There's a seconds pause.

"Someone got sloppy," is all he says.

"You think it was them?"

"Must be. They'd have driven any other vampires out of the town by now. They're the only vampires left this side of the state probably."

"So why'd they kill a local girl?" she asks, her voice strained.

Stefan shrugs. "I don't know, it doesn't make sense to me. Either one of their vampires made a mistake or they're trying to send out a signal."

"What do you mean? A signal?"

"Trying to assert their dominance in the area or something."

"Like a statement?"

"Something like that, yeah."

Caroline's eyes grow wide and worried. The death didn't make sense to her, and it looked like Stefan didn't understand it either. Why would they feed on a girl from the town when they had most of the state to themselves and could be on the point of discovery if they fed too close to home? And if they were making a statement, who was it to? Other vampires, to say this was their territory? They couldn't know Stefan and her were in the area already. Unless they'd been watched…. She adjusts the towel around herself distractedly and Stefan clears his throat and averts his gaze. She finds herself blushing.

"Sorry. I'll just go shower now. I'll be ten minutes."

"Caroline, try not to worry about it. Maybe it is just an animal attack. I mean, we don't know for sure."

She nods and tries to smile. "Yeah, maybe."

/

The car swings off down an unmarked road and Caroline feels the gravel crutch under the wheels. The speedometer dives down to twenty miles an hour and Stefan kind of growls. He doesn't like driving slow. Caroline knows. Drive fast and he feels like's he's going somewhere, where he's in control. Kind of like running, if you keep going nothing can catch up with you, and you're safe for that little bit longer. She gets it.

The road soon becomes enveloped in trees either side that crowd in on them, blocking out the natural daylight from above and behind. Stefan flicks the headlights on.

"Bonnie wasn't kidding when she said the place was out of the way."

Caroline laughs, a little tightly, and presses a hand to the window. "I guess this is one way you won't be found easily."

She hears Stefan swallow and watches as the road continues to disappear under the wheels. After another couple of minutes of driving and the crunching of the gravel is muffled and the car begins to lurch, throwing Caroline against her seatbelt. Stefan cuts the engine off in frustration and peers out the windscreen.

"I guess the road ran out."

"Do you think we're far away?"

"Hard to say when it's so dark in here. I'll get out and check."

Caroline fumbles with her seatbelt and springs free, grabbing Stefan's hand as he goes to climb out of the car.

"Forget it. I'm coming with you. I don't want them finding you in the woods first and killing you before we even get there. We'll go together, alright?"

Stefan looks over his shoulder at her, his hand paused on the handle. Caroline stares determinedly back, breaking the eye contact only when a lock of blonde hair falls over her eyes. She brushes it away impatiently and Stefan's eyes dart from her face to her fingers on his wrist and back again. He gives her a heavy look, and then nods.

"Fine. We'll leave the car here then."

She smiles triumphantly and jumps out, the undergrowth cracking under her feet. Stefan waits for her until they're walking in step through the woods. She can tell Stefan's listening hard so she keeps quiet, letting only the sound of the wind through the trees and the occasional twig snapping fill the silence. They've been walking perhaps five minutes when Caroline stalls, a cold chill creeping up her back all the way to the nape of her neck. A feeling like they're being watched, perhaps by someone not far away, just out of reach under the cover of darkness. It's making her skin tingle and she whips her head around, trying to catch something out of place; a leaf twitching, a branch moving when it shouldn't be. Nothing.

"Caroline?"

Stefan's paused ahead of her and his eyebrows are raised in apprehension, waiting for her to keep on moving, but she can't. Her feet feel rooted to the floor as the feeling grows, making her toes curl in her boots and the hair at the base of her neck stand on end. Stefan starts to walk towards her, a small frown pulling his eyebrows down. She shudders in a breath.

"Caroline, what's wrong?"

"There- there's something watching us."

Something, not someone. A monster emerging from under the bed, perhaps.

Caroline's feelings must show on her face because Stefan closes the gap between them and takes her hand, pulling her gently behind him. "I should've guessed. Of course they'd guard their house."

Caroline's not reassured. There was something sinister about the sensation crawling over her skin back there. Something more than just a house with a bodyguard behind a pair of binoculars. Stefan can still sense the tenseness in her muscles and gives her hand a slight squeeze.

"If we're being watched, we can't be far away. Come on, let's run." he says, squaring his shoulders. Caroline draws in a deep breath and takes off with him.

They run in a general direction, forwards. The action makes Caroline feel better, the possibility of shaking off their semi- pursuer lightening her footfall through the wood. A glance to her left shows Stefan checking the area, dodging trees, his expression concentrated, the lines in his forehead pronounced. She thinks wildly of tuesdays and continues running.

They don't see the house until they're on top of it. It looms suddenly up out of the darkness, its windows spilling light into the dimness of the clearing it's set in. It's large, old and elaborate, it's detailed masonry the worse for it's obvious age. The plaster on the front is peeling and the porch decking is wonky, as thought it were broken a while ago and never fixed. In short, it doesn't look like the majestic mansion Caroline was expecting these obviously up-tight vampires to live in. Stefan follows her gaze.

"It's easier to hide in, I think. A big old house might draw too much attention."

Caroline figures that makes sense and nods, but her hand finds its way back to Stefan's very subtly (or so she'd like to think.)

"So what now, we just go up and ring the doorbell?"

Stefan makes a vague hand gesture. "I can't see anyone around, so I guess so."

The feeling from the back of her neck has melted away, but she can't shake the memory of the feeling. This place is bad, she knows it down the marrow of her bone. The clearing seems to quiet. Like the wind was holding it's breath before it began to blow a gale. Stefan takes a step forward next to her.

"Come on."

She follows him, up to the house, up the bowed beaten steps, right up to the front porch to the front door, outdated with it's solid knocker.

"Why isn't anyone killing us?" she whispers and Stefan shrugs and purses his lips. He tries at a joke.

"Maybe they want to welcome their guests?" Caroline scowls at his attempt at humour and rocks nervously on her heels.

"Just knock on the dang door, Stefan."

He raises an eyebrow at her sharp tone but raises a hand to the door nonetheless, his face already set in a pleasant smile. Caroline quickly arranges her features to match his, slides an arm around his waist. Whispers, "We're a married couple, gotta look like it," and steels herself for whatever is behind the door, leaning into Stefan's solid side. If she's going to admit it to herself, it's partially for the act and partially because it makes her feel better in some minuscule way, having him so close.

The door opens before Stefan finishes knocking once.

* * *

_An: I don't actually have anything to say down here other than I hope to pick up the plot regarding la Steroline romance soon. Yeah. The song mentioned is borrowed from a wonderful Steroline fan mix I found on tumblr the other day, so thank you, lovely person for that. It's a good song, give it a listen._

_Thoughts? Hopefully they are not stars you can not fathom into constellations ;)_


	6. Breaking Down The Walls

Chapter Six: Bringing Down The Walls

_I'm willing to break myself to shake this hell from everything I touch. I'm willing to bleed for days my... reds and grays, so you don't hurt so much - Break Myself, Something Corporate._

_._

The door swings open to reveal a dark hallway, lit by candles bracketed onto the wall. Everything is deep velvet red and dark polished wood, from the small glimpse Caroline gets, a stark contrast to the shabby exterior. Stefan must be right, no-one they don't intend to kill usually gets further than their front door, and they're none the wiser to what and who resides inside.

A woman steps around from behind the door, tall and willowy. Her dark hair is braided intricately and fastened to leave it half down and tumbling over her shoulders. Her cheekbones cut through her face perfectly, high and chiselled. One eyebrow is raised in what Caroline can only place as a dangerous sort of amusement. Caroline is reminded of the films she used to watch on loop when her mother was at work and she was five years old- a beautiful but undoubtedly evil queen.

She feels Stefan tense up next to her for a fraction of a second, and then he pulls her impossibly closer until she's flush against his side.

The woman narrows her dark eyes. "Can I help you?"

Stefan smiles easily and Caroline glances up at him. They hadn't exactly rehearsed what they were going to say what with her getting freaked out and getting lost, so she doesn't know what direction Stefan's going to take them this conversation in at all. With her track record of saying the worst things in difficult situations she thinks it's best if she just shuts her mouth and focuses on looking like a dutiful wife, or whatever. Stefan's fingers rub over her hip bone, in a slow manner before he starts speaking, and she tries to hide the way her body tenses up at this small but strangely intimate touch.

"Good afternoon. I'm Stefan Salvatore and this is Caroline," he says, smiling, all teeth and dimples and Caroline can't ever imagine saying no to that face. The woman, however looks sceptical, but stays silent. She taps her heel on the tiled floor, an impatient sign to carry on that creates an echo through the old house. There's some rustling that sounds like it's coming from behind her and Caroline's all of sudden very conscious that elsewhere in this house are a whole host of other vampires. Stefan's smile falters for a second, and then he continues.

"Caroline and I have heard for years of your excellent set up here in this town and finally thought to seek you out ourselves. Having been alone for many years, my wife and I sought some company, and were intrigued by your elected family. Covens are a dying breed, are they not? We were both quite excited at the prospect of being able to experience one first hand."

It's a smooth lie that flows from his lips flawlessly, punctuated with another smile. If Caroline didn't know better, she'd believe it herself. There was something about Stefan standing up straight and looking this intimidating woman in they eyes that Caroline found hard to doubt.

The woman considers him for a second and then her face transforms into a slow stretching smile that Caroline swears doesn't meet her eyes. "Oh, you've heard of us have you?"

"Yes. Your family is the stuff of legends," Stefan offers. "Don't you agree, hon?" Caroline blinks before she realises Stefan's allowing her into the conversation. She swallows as the woman's eyes flick towards her.

"Yeah, we've heard a lot about you. You, uh, have a lovely home by the way, Mrs..," she tails off when she realises she doesn't even know the lady's name and cringes.

"Eleanor LaRosa, and thank you," she interjects, opening the door an inch wider. Caroline tries to smile warmly in return.

"We'd really like you to consider our request Mrs LaRosa," Stefan says. "We've travelled to get here and if you could give my wife and I a chance, we would appreciate your hospitality. There comes at time when one needs different company. Don't you agree?"

Caroline's absolutely sure that Stefan is channelling his twenties persona, minus the ripper part, his language flows so eloquently, It's a good act.

"So you just decided to turn up on my front door step?"

Stefan pretends to look embarrassed. "We do not mean to intrude, but couldn't see any other way around it, Mrs LaRosa."

Caroline nods like she agrees and tries to look sorry.

Eleanor's eyes narrow again and she barks out a couple of names. "Fabian, Logan!" There's a blur of motion and two male vampires are hovering by Eleanor's shoulders, their arms crossed against their broad chests and the veins around their eyes painting spider webs in their skin.

"Are these the two that you spotted in the forest?"

The two men scan Stefan and her with their eyes, eyebrows digging over their nose. Silently they nod and Caroline is very creeped out to know that these were the people making her feel so insecure not half an hour ago. Their faces are hard and impassive. They're obviously Eleanor's henchmen, or something. Stefan moves to grip her hand tightly.

"You were watching us?" he asks, his voice pleasant, but Caroline can hear the strain he's under to keep up his tone. The two men shift next to Eleanor, who smiles innocently.

"But of course, couldn't have any riffraff around my home, could I?"

Stefan bows his head. "Of course not, of course not. You are well prepared."

"I'm glad you understand. Where did you say you were from again, dear?" She's looking right at Caroline and she panics for a second, forgetting every place _ever _until she feels Stefan stroke his thumb over the back of her hand gently and a country jumps into her mind.

"We've been in Italy, Florence most recently. But we've been all over," she says. Stefan continues his stroking and it's oddly calming. Florence is at least a place she's actually been, when she was nine and her parents were attempting a family holiday that ultimately failed. But she has some experience to draw on as well as knowledge from her history classes, and Stefan's already been _everywhere_.

"I know it a little. Charming place."

Caroline and Stefan nod in unison but say nothing. Eleanor flashes that wide, disconcerting smile again.

"You seem like a lovely couple. Pity you aren't telling the truth. Logan, take the girl, I want a little fun. Dispose of the male."

Before Caroline even even begin to react to the blind panic that sweeps through her like a bucket of ice down her spine, Stefan is pushing her away and behind him and then yanking her tight against his back, his fangs bared in a vicious snarl. In a split second he has Logan thrown against the wall, the vampire's head making a sickening crunch before he hits the tiled floor. Energy and strength is pulsing through Stefan's body and he whips his head around to face Eleanor who is still onlooking, smiling at the whole thing.

"_What the hell?_" he spits. '_No one_ touches Caroline!"

Eleanor chuckles at his words. "Just testing your loyalty. You seem very attached. You passed by the way."

Stefan starts to shake with anger, the muscles in his arms flexing. "Who are you to threaten my _wife_?" he roars. Caroline tries to push against the arm restricting her, but he doesn't budge. Relief is sinking into her brain, and she's beginning to understand that this woman isn't just going to let them walk in and shack up shop without a few things first.

"Stefan, I'm fine, let it go. She was only trying to get that reaction."

He glances back at her, his eyes dark and black and his mouth still twisted into a growl, but his grip softens some. Caroline wriggles around him and takes a small step forward. "You'll have to excuse my husband, he gets protective."

Eleanor quirks an eyebrow at her. "Clearly," she says. "Perhaps to save any of my friends getting attaining further injuries, I should invite you inside. You may come in."

She reaches back for Stefan's arm and tugs him forward. As they step into to the hall the vampire Stefan took out is beginning to come round. Stefan kicks him in the side again and he groans.

"Must you?" Eleanor snaps.

"I'm sorry," Caroline apologises, giving Stefan a sharp look. Does she need to remind him not to screw this up when they've only just arrived? Stefan sighs and rearranges his face into something resembling a smile.

"Since I'm more likely to get a response from you Mrs Salvatore while your husband calms down," Caroline can feel Stefan bristling beside her. "What exactly do you want from my family and I?" Eleanor finishes. Caroline blanches.

"Like Stefan said, we wanted some company and to check out your coven, because we've heard rumours about your home and arrangements and thought you could maybe be persuaded to take us in?" she tries to smile appealing at the end.

"Well I daresay our reputation precedes us," Eleanor drawls, her lips lifting the smallest amounts. "Mr Salvatore, how long have you and your lovely wife been married? You have of course, heard our little rule?"

"Yes Ma'am." He seems to have recovered from his fit of anger, that to be honest Caroline is still reeling from. "We have. Caroline have been married for around two decades."

"Oh, a new couple then? How darling. How are you enjoying the married life, Mrs Salvatore?"

Caroline best the distinct feeling she's being tested out, being probed in the most of subtle ways. This is it. This is where she has to convince this woman without doubt that Stefan and her are a happily, blissfully married couple, hopelessly in love. She could do this.

She finds herself blushing and snaking her hand back into Stefan's and biting her lip. Looking at Stefan out of the corner of her eyes shows him with his head ducked down, but a smile plays along his lips and Caroline finds herself smiling along with him. "Stefan is a wonderful man and I am the the most insanely lucky girl in the world," she says, laughing at the way Stefan is trying to look like her semi-faux compliment isn't going to his head.

Eleanor looks from both their faces and claps her hand. "You two seem happy. It's always wonderful to see such love. Another reason I enforce the rule, keeps the house a peaceful place, don't you know?"

Caroline nods and thinks of the irony of the phrase. A houseful of vampires committing serial genocide being described as peaceful? But to these vampire, everything is relative.

"I'd invite you to meet our friends, but they seem to be out hunting. I dare say they'll be back soon, they can't be further away than the other side of the county."

Stefan coughs and Caroline's mind immediately flashes back to the news report they saw this morning. "Is that where you normally hunt? Caroline and i were going to ask about territories, you see. DOn't want to cause any local trouble or step on anybody's toes."

Eleanor waves an airy hand. "Oh, they go wherever. They try to keep away from the local town. There are accidents of course, people who get too close, or strategic killings. Funny you should ask, really. Just yesterday Fabian caught the scent of some vampires in the area, got a little spooked at first. No one really disturbs us here you see, Mr Salvatore. He decided that killing a local girl would cement our territory and dominance. A mistake, really, but the humans are none the wiser. They do live such sweet ignorant lives don't they? Of course, it must have been you two he recognised. And you're here being pleasant. Well now, anyway. So all's well that ends well."

Caroline feels a lump forming in her throat at Eleanor's words, a tightening of her airways and spinning of her hair that has her moving to Stefan's side and clinging to his shirt. She'd practically killed someone. The girl's smiling face from the photo shown on the news reel flashes in the forefront of her memory, happy and smiling and the blood bag she'd had earlier on is threatening to make a come back. Distantly she feels Stefan's hand come to rest in her hair, stroking her curls gently.

"I understand Mrs LaRosa, of course. Would you mind if my wife and I stepped outside for a minute. Or maybe if you were feeling hospitable, show us to a room?"

Caroline still trying to concentrate on not hyperventilating but Stefan's hand is still on the nape of her neck, smoothing the curls there and she tries to smile and not cry. What was her name? Anna? Audrey? Caroline can't remember and it makes her insides feel like they're crawling in on themselves. She hasn't killed since the night at the carnival, and so this isn't directly her fault, but technically she's responsible. For ending a innocent girl's life. She has to shut off her breathing to stop it from becoming audible.

Vaguely she hears Eleanor reply. "I suppose we have a spare room you two could take for the time being. Your invitation rests not only with me, but the others too. You must wait until they get back for that, you understand. Come, follow me."

She walks away, her heels clacking on the tiled floor and Stefan starts after her, tugging Caroline gently along after him, hugging her to his side. Eleanor stop outside a large wooden door and swings it open. "This room ins uninhabited at the moment. You may have it."

"Thank you Ma'am. My wife is tired, you see. Can we come down later?"

Eleanor nods tersely. "I will be in the drawing room. You'll be able to find it."

Stefan nods gratefully, pushes the door open wider and guides them both inside. Eleanor watches them both for a second with narrowed eyes before disappearing down the corridor, shutting the door with a click behind her.

Immediately, Caroline wrenches herself from Stefan's grasp and throws herself on the massive double bed that took up most of the elegantly decorated room. Her hands are balled into fists at her side, her face contorted with pain. She slides off the bed onto the wooden floor, burying her face in her hands, sobbing softly. Stefan crouches down next to her, placing his hands on her shoulder, smoothing his thumbs across her jaw. He knew this was coming. Caroline's heart was so pure.

"Caroline, Caroline, shhh!"

"We killed someone Stefan!"

"No we didn't. Hey, no we didn't. Someone else did. Sshhh, Caroline."

"We as good as!" Caroline cries out, pressing the palms of her hands into her eye sockets in an attempt to calm down. Stefan passes a hand over he hair and pulls her to his chest, sitting down next to her. her hands fist in his shirt and she buries her head in his neck. He can feel her tears on his skin, hot and trickling. He tries to soothe her with his voice, calm gentle words.

"Caroline, it wasn't your fault, you have to believe that, okay? You need to be quiet, she'll hear us. Okay? Caroline, shhh."

Her whimpers abate a bit and she takes her head off his chest and blinks at Stefan, trying to reel in her emotions again. Stefan brushes a tear from her eye slowly and memories form a dirty bathroom at the same carnival she remembered before flood back to her, of Stefan holding her just like he did then, so many moons ago. She chokes back a sob and leans into Stefan's shoulder instead, resting her head there, her body skiing with silent now cries. He continues to stroke her hair, more relaxed now that Caroline has quietened down.

"You're okay, you'll be okay. It wasn't your fault." he whispers until he thinks Caroline listens and her small frame slackens in his embrace.

* * *

_An: Touchy-feely Steroline, huh? I'm gonna be honest, this chapter was difficult for me to write, so I'm sorry if it feels a little off to you. It does to me. But you deserve an update, so here it is. Please don't hesitate to tell me what you thought. PS. I 'd just like to add that all of this is un-beta'd so the typos and God knows what else are mine and mine alone, please excuse them._


End file.
